3D Topics

GLOBALFOUNDRIES Exceeds Expectations at GTC 2016

If you need hard evidence that consolidation in the semiconductor industry can be a good thing, then look no further than the visible success GLOBALFOUNDRIES is enjoying in the year-and-change since it completed its acquisition of the IBM Microelectronics business. In the 01 July 2015 press release GF issued about...

MEMS and Sensors Industry Group Becomes Part of SEMI

Peter Clarke, EE Times, and I both agree – the biggest news of this year’s SEMI MEMS Summit, which took place September 17-18, 2016 in Stuttgart, Germany, was the announcement that SEMI is forming a strategic association partnership with the MEMS and Sensors Industry Group (MSIG). “This is good news, as...

A Fan-Out Wafer Level Packaging Epiphany

I’ve had an epiphany regarding fan-out wafer level packaging (FOWLP). Epiphany: “A usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something.” In FvT’s piece “Spotlight on FOWLP, Monolithic 3D IC, and 3D TSVs,” (13 May 2015) I am quoted saying: “Show me where monolithic or FOWLP...

plasma dicing

The Growth and Emergence of New Dicing Technologies

Driven by rising demand for thinner wafers and stronger die, dicing technologies are evolving. “Reaching more than US$100 million in 2015, the dicing equipment market will double by 2020-2021”, announces Yole Développement (Yole) (Source: Thin Wafer Processing & Dicing Equipment Market report, Yole Développement, May 2016). Yet at the same...

Discussing Panel Scale Packaging at SEMI’s Northeast Forum

SEMI did a great job at SEMICON West 2016 organizing a bursting-at-the-seams amount of technical content presented on the show floor, content that included (pleasant surprise) a full track devoted to advanced packaging topics. Definitely not business as usual. The distinction between where fab processes end and where packaging processes...

SEMI 2020: Transforming for the New Supply Chain

2015 will be remembered mostly for the ‘wild ride’ that fundamentally changed the industry.  An unprecedented wave of M&A activity swept across the electronics supply chain with scores of transactions and with notable multi-billion dollar companies being absorbed.  As a result, in 2016, we are working within a significantly reshaped...

The 2016 3D InCites Awards Scholarship goes to Sophie Mathis!

Ever since we first established 3D InCites Awards program in 2013, our intention was to use the funds generated by sponsorship to promote STEM-based education. This year, thanks to the generosity of our platinum sponsor, KLA-Tencor, as well as silver sponsors, Yole Développement, and Amkor Technology, Inc., we are awarding...

SEMICON West 2016: Update from the Semiconductor Suppliers

Every year at SEMICON West, in addition to taking in keynotes and technology sessions, I like to catch up with semiconductor suppliers to find out about any significant news, their latest offerings and how they are enabling next-generation manufacturing. Here are this year’s highlights. UnitySC One of the big stories...

Making Connections at SEMICON West 2016

If you attended SEMICON West 2016 last week, you probably noticed that the event is undergoing a metamorphosis. It was hard to miss. The signs were everywhere. Literally: It’s not surprising, since everything about the semiconductor manufacturing industry has been evolving over the past few years, and everyone, including SEMI,...

And the Winners of the 2016 3D InCites Awards are…..

 For the fourth consecutive year, the Impress Lounge played host to the 3D InCites Awards Ceremony, during which individuals, companies, and products were recognized by their peers for excellence in 3D packaging technologies. This year, we mixed it up a bit, and rather than recognize the processes, materials, designs and...